I’ve been dipping in and out of classic game emulation for years now, but one trend that I hadn’t really appreciated until recently was the use of “spoof” APK versions that you won’t find in the Google Play Store. In other words, developers are shipping their game emulators disguised as other apps. Why would they do that? Well, it’s all about maximizing performance.
The theory is simple: most smartphones optimize for specific use cases, often sacrificing peak performance for many apps to reduce temperatures and prolong battery life. Your web browser doesn’t need to run your chip at full tilt, after all. However, some devices game the system by unlocking maximum performance for listed applications, sometimes for specific games, and occasionally to improve their benchmark results. By “spoofing” one app to appear as another, a developer can trick the system into unlocking maximum performance that might not have been otherwise available. This is pretty handy if you’re trying to emulate something extremely demanding.
Do you play games using a spoofed emulator APK?
4 votes
Yes
0%
No
50%
I had no idea it was a thing
50%
While a few Android console emulators offer spoofed APK options, I wanted something that would really stress my ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro gaming handset. I settled on trying to play the PC classic Crysis via GameHub Lite, which offers several spoof APK implementations to adjust device performance. I figured the chances are good that the AnTuTu option would trigger something in ASUS’ X-Mode to max out the phone’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chip.
Can it run? Let’s find out.
Running Crysis on a smartphone
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
A little bit of housekeeping before we get into the results. Both devices are set up precisely the same, using the default emulator settings, high graphics settings, and a low resolution of just 800×600. I set the frame rate cap to 120 and kept the phone in its maximum performance mode, “X-Mode,” for both apps. After that, it was simply a matter of making my way through the game’s first level at roughly the same pace. The graph below shows the complete performance of the run for both the default and AnTuTu APKs.
Hopefully, it’s easy enough to notice that the AnTuTu spoof version performed much better than the default GameHub Lite APK. Peak frame rates actually reach 120fps in the game’s intro sequences and spend a significant portion of the game around and above 60fps, rather than far below it. Even when scene density and combat really kicked the action up a gear, the spoofed version maintained a performance of around 45fps, rather than dropping to the mid-20s. It’s undeniable; pretending to be AnTuTu results in significantly better emulation performance for GameHub Lite, at least when running on the ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro.
However, you’ll have no doubt spotted that this comes with a huge compromise. GPU clocks are up, but temperatures are absolutely volcanic on the spoofed playthrough. While the default APK maintains internal temperatures at a reasonable 40°C (104°F), by the end of our 12.5-minute playthrough via the spoof APK, the ROG has allowed its internal temperatures to reach 51°C (124°F). The phone was far too hot to hold well before reaching the end of the test.
To highlight the exact performance differences, I’ve broken down the run into three key scenes: the intro cinematic, the second cinematic, and the gunfight on the shoreline. The graphs below show the performance obtained within each area as well as the ROG Phone 9 Pro’s overall power consumption during that period.
Again, we can clearly see that the spoof version performs significantly better in every section, with average gains of 18%, 34%, and 54% in each section, respectively. That’s a vast improvement for running on precisely the same hardware. However, the power consumption data explains why; by pretending to be AnTuTu, the ROG allows the chip to run at full tilt with absolutely zero concern for power consumption.
As a result, average power consumption is 73% higher during the intro cinematic, 82% higher in the second cutscene, and an eye-watering 139% higher (more than doubled) during the final shootout location. The massive increase in power draw far outweighs the performance gain, essentially halving the phone’s battery life, or worse.
The gap between peak and everyday performance might be growing.
Still, it’s somewhat surprising that little more than renaming an application is enough to trick my ROG into allocating far more power to the emulator, resulting in noticeably superior performance. That does lead to an interesting point, however: most users aren’t maximizing the power of their smartphones, even when they might expect to. Power is clearly the limiting issue; up to 16.4W is well above a sustainable workload for a handheld form factor (a 6W peak is more typical), in terms of both heat and battery life.
There’s a reason why phones don’t enable this sort of performance profile for any old app. However, by allowing it only for benchmarks, we’re still clearly stuck in the misleading world of theoretical benchmark performance versus what your apps can actually utilize. But that’s a discussion for another article.
Should you spoof your emulators?
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
Clearly, the performance benefits of a spoofed emulator APK are undeniable in this example. Our test highlights that two otherwise identical pieces of software can vary between a playable and a jittery experience, depending on whether your phone allows them to run at full power. The fact that Crysis runs at a solid frame rate on a modern smartphone (even if it requires 16W to get there) is, quite frankly, unbelievable for someone who grew up struggling to hit 30fps on their PC back in the day.
But looking at the bigger picture, I don’t think it’s a slam dunk that you should always opt for the better-performing option. The temperatures are far too hot to handle, so you’d want to play with a grip or wireless controller. Even then, 2x or greater power consumption than the default APK means that smoother frame rates come at the expense of far less play time, which probably rules this idea out for your morning commute.
Some phones may benefit, but heat and battery life take a major hit.
Of course, this is just a glimpse into one phone. Not every handset profiles and adjusts performance between apps in the same way. The performance gains could certainly be smaller or even nonexistent on other smartphones. Not to mention that emulating older consoles and titles, often with a 60fps cap, means any benefits could be muted even further.
Still, if you’re really struggling to achieve a playable frame rate on a demanding game, opting to use your emulator’s spoofed APK version can make a significant difference. Just be prepared for the added heat.
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